You know that feeling that the dots are starting to connect, creating some kind of path. It's like life is presenting you a new road to walk down. It's like all your past—your education, your experience, your connections, your dreams, your disappointments, your challenges, and your moments of shame and glory—are all finding their place in the puzzle and offering you a new perspective. And the harder you try to stay in your comfort zone, the stronger the feeling of unease and the dissatisfaction with the familiar junction you are standing in.  It's like the universe is t...

The opening of a new year is a wonderful opportunity to recap; to take the time to savor and be thankful for the good things that shaped the past year and to plan for the year ahead. It can be practical decisions such as organizing the closets (I know I need to), planning a trip to somewhere new, adopting a new routine that requires self-discipline, or enriching your life by learning something new. But I find it just as important to aspire to do everything in my power to be a better person with each passing year. We all have something we need to improve: the way we treat ourselves...

"That which does not kill us makes us stronger." Friedrich Nietzsche It was great hearing this encouraging sentence in Kelly Clarkson’s wonderful song "Stronger” (originally called "What Doesn’t Kill You”). The Nietzsche-inspired chorus, as well as the uplifting melody, caught me just when I needed it, and although, fortunately, it wasn’t the departure of a lover that resonated with me, it turned out to be a significant motivational song for me while running.   What doesn't kill you makes you stronger Stand a little taller Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alon...

"If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. And so today I still have a dream." Martin Luther King, Jr Freedom and hope are part of my DNA. And though I don’t run around wearing hippie skirts and peace necklaces, I have come to realize that freedom and hope both represent for me something far beyond their prevailing interpretation. They are fundamental elements of our being; and as they are, thankfully, commonplace around these parts, most o...

We have finally come to our last chapter on the search for this year's festive holiday look. Starting with the Discover Why Black appearance, we then moved to the feminine Silk and Knit combination, followed by the Bright Look suggestion and then began the New Year celebrations last week with the Touch of Gold. Now, on Christmas day and with New Year's Eve waiting on us, we have reached our epilogue.   New Year…aah…the symbolic act of turning the page of the Gregorian calendar and changing the digit of another year is a waypost. The end of whatever we choose to l...

In addition to my previous post on Italian travel—Tuscany— I would like to share an unpredictably special experience in a spot we visited for the first time: Pienza.  Sometimes there is one experience that eclipses all others and becomes the highlight of your vacation. It  gives you that memorable moment, the one you long to relive sometime soon…. Pienza, located in the province of Siena on the Tuscan/Umbrian border in between the towns of Montepulciano and Montalcino, was termed by the architect Nicholas Adams, "the touchstone of Renaissance urbanism." Personall...

It may be only a self-perception that makes us drift away from our purpose. But it is this internal search, or awakening (according to Carl Jung), that may occasionally lead the way to our true calling. Call it dreams or call it awakenings – it is the awareness of the need to find them that starts the search for meaning. The famous psychiatrist Viktor E. Frankl called the human search for meaning "self-transcendence." This term describes a positive result in the individual search for meaning together with long-term emotions of happiness. His model concerns self-fulfillment an...

As we are getting closer to New Year celebrations, we cannot and must not ignore the trend toward a touch of gold. Gold is a color that speaks for itself. Not much needs to be said about its aura and its contribution to creating an impression or statement. The only proviso, of which you are probably already aware, is the need to use it in moderation. Less is more goes the saying, and when it is gold we are talking about, that is definitely true. By less I don’t mean keep it restricted to jewelry or a clutch bag but rather that one statement piece could be enough. A goldish...

The other day I met with a web designer to discuss future collaboration with my innovative endeavors. As so often happens when meeting woman to woman, our meeting soon became a personal conversation. She is a young mother of two toddlers, super motivated, intelligent, full of energy, still holding on to the dream of success but not certain of the path taking her there. She left me with a feeling which resonated so strongly, namely that sense of being handcuffed by the daily routine of motherhood; a restriction that we, as mothers, willingly impose on ourselves and which men, in ma...

"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music." Friedrich Nietzsche The feeling of not being seen is one of the most devastating, destructive and frightening experiences. Although I can find numerous advantages for transparency in general, when it comes to our own beings, feeling transparent is not something to covet. And yet, there are so many reasons for choosing not to be seen. The old sketch "How to Be Seen" from Monty Python's Flying Circus offers a hilarious, somewhat extreme interpretation of this notion. Ther...